[Surgical procedure in exploratory incision of the mamma (author's transl)]

A comparison was made between two groups, each consisting of 50 women who had undergone an exploratory incision of the mamma because of suspected cancer at least one year and not more than two years previously. The women in group A underwent an operation in clinic A in which a radial incision was performed in the skin immediately above the tumor (GB: tumour). In contrast to this group B in clinic B had the tumor removed via parariola incision independent of the location of the tumor. In clinic A the incision was closed by subcuticular suture using individual button stitches on the surface. In clinic B subcutaneous stitching was not used; after thorough blood-staunching procedures the skin was closed with intracutaneous atraumatic techniques. Both groups were subsequently examined and post-operative complications and the complaints of the patients were registered. In addition the cosmetic result of the operation was taken into consideration. The examinations show that the parariola incision is the ideal technique for almost all exploratory operations of the breast. Although the post-operative phase is accompanied by a slightly higher incidence of haematomas these rarely require further corrective surgical procedures if blood-staunching is efficient and Redon drainage techniques are used. Between 1 and 2 years after surgery the parariola approach shows definite advantages when compared with radial incision directly over the tumor. The scars are almost invisible, definitely cause fewer problems for the patient, and rarely spoil the appearance of the breast.